--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...an elegant woman, with a refinement…" description: "\"“...an elegant woman, with a refinement that makes mere prettiness seem redundant.”\" — Hilary Mantel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg" --- # ...an elegant woman, with a refinement that makes mere… ![“...an elegant woman, with a refinement that makes mere prettiness seem redundant.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg) > ““...an elegant woman, with a refinement that makes mere prettiness seem redundant.”” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An elegant woman’s refinement makes simple prettiness seem unnecessary. **In simple terms:** Refinement surpasses mere prettiness. Key Takeaway Recognize depth over surface. Themes beauty refinement identity Mood analytical contemplative Type literary observational When to use this quote - fashion critique - character study - media portrayal Key Concepts character analysis social perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you define true elegance? - When is refinement superficial? A Different Perspective Surface beauty can still hold value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elegant woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegant-woman/) [Mere Prettiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere-prettiness-3084371/) [Prettiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prettiness/) [Prettiness Redundant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prettiness-redundant-3084369/) [Woman Refinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-refinement-3084370/) ## Related quotes > [I abhor mere prettiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-burton/i-abhor-mere-prettiness/) [Richard Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-burton/) > [I myself used to do absurd things. Yes, I mean that. I had to have a laugh, and some of the things were absurd.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-schiaparelli/i-myself-used-to-do-absurd-things-yes-i-mean-that-i-had-to-have-a/) [Elsa Schiaparelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-schiaparelli/) > [Elegance is a statement, an attitude. Elegant women are women of character with confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-saab/elegance-is-a-statement-an-attitude-elegant-women-are-women-of/) [Elie Saab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-saab/) > [“Her every movement transfixed him; she was graceful and refined. She’d become a woman. An elegant woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-moran/her-every-movement-transfixed-him-she-was-graceful-and-refined-she-d/) [Jan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-moran/) > [Decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/decide-what-you-are-what-you-want-to-express-by-the-way-you-dress-and/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [An elegant woman is a woman who despises you and has no hair under her arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/an-elegant-woman-is-a-woman-who-despises-you-and-has-no-hair-under/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [It is best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/it-is-best-to-be-as-pretty-as-possible-for-destiny/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Beyonce is a beautiful, elegant woman who is also a wonderful dancer. And her voice is sublime. Just like her husband, Jay-Z, Beyonce has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azzedine-alaia/beyonce-is-a-beautiful-elegant-woman-who-is-also-a-wonderful-dancer/) [Azzedine Alaia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azzedine-alaia/) > [“...was an elegant woman in a city of so many thousands of elegant women...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/was-an-elegant-woman-in-a-city-of-so-many-thousands-of-elegant-women/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [Grace is in a great measure a natural gift; elegance implies cultivation; or something of more artificial character. A rustic, uneducated girl may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/grace-is-in-a-great-measure-a-natural-gift-elegance-implies/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Even the wisest woman you talk to is ignorant of something you may know, but an elegant woman never forgets her elegance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/even-the-wisest-woman-you-talk-to-is-ignorant-of-something-you-may/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Shipping magnate of the 20th century If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/shipping-magnate-of-the-20th-century-if-women-didn-t-exist-all-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [An elegant woman should be able to do her marketing without making housewives laugh. Those who laugh are always right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/an-elegant-woman-should-be-able-to-do-her-marketing-without-making/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/you-can-never-take-too-much-care-over-the-choice-of-your-shoes/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [Don't be into trends. Don't make fashion own you, but you decide what you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/don-t-be-into-trends-don-t-make-fashion-own-you-but-you-decide-what/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Elegant woman quotes > [Don't be into trends. Don't make fashion own you, but you decide what you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/don-t-be-into-trends-don-t-make-fashion-own-you-but-you-decide-what/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/you-can-never-take-too-much-care-over-the-choice-of-your-shoes/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [An elegant woman should be able to do her marketing without making housewives laugh. Those who laugh are always right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/an-elegant-woman-should-be-able-to-do-her-marketing-without-making/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Shipping magnate of the 20th century If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/shipping-magnate-of-the-20th-century-if-women-didn-t-exist-all-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Even the wisest woman you talk to is ignorant of something you may know, but an elegant woman never forgets her elegance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/even-the-wisest-woman-you-talk-to-is-ignorant-of-something-you-may/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Grace is in a great measure a natural gift; elegance implies cultivation; or something of more artificial character. A rustic, uneducated girl may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/grace-is-in-a-great-measure-a-natural-gift-elegance-implies/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“...was an elegant woman in a city of so many thousands of elegant women...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/was-an-elegant-woman-in-a-city-of-so-many-thousands-of-elegant-women/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [Beyonce is a beautiful, elegant woman who is also a wonderful dancer. And her voice is sublime. Just like her husband, Jay-Z, Beyonce has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azzedine-alaia/beyonce-is-a-beautiful-elegant-woman-who-is-also-a-wonderful-dancer/) [Azzedine Alaia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azzedine-alaia/) > [It is best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/it-is-best-to-be-as-pretty-as-possible-for-destiny/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [An elegant woman is a woman who despises you and has no hair under her arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/an-elegant-woman-is-a-woman-who-despises-you-and-has-no-hair-under/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/decide-what-you-are-what-you-want-to-express-by-the-way-you-dress-and/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [“Her every movement transfixed him; she was graceful and refined. She’d become a woman. An elegant woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-moran/her-every-movement-transfixed-him-she-was-graceful-and-refined-she-d/) [Jan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-moran/) > [Elegance is a statement, an attitude. Elegant women are women of character with confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-saab/elegance-is-a-statement-an-attitude-elegant-women-are-women-of/) [Elie Saab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-saab/) > [I myself used to do absurd things. Yes, I mean that. I had to have a laugh, and some of the things were absurd.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-schiaparelli/i-myself-used-to-do-absurd-things-yes-i-mean-that-i-had-to-have-a/) [Elsa Schiaparelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-schiaparelli/) > [My mother was a very elegant woman. When a flying saucer landed on the lawn, she turned it over to see if it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/my-mother-was-a-very-elegant-woman-when-a-flying-saucer-landed-on-the/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) [Browse all 23 Elegant woman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegant-woman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...an elegant woman, with a refinement that makes mere prettiness seem redundant.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hilary Mantel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that-makes-mere-prettiness-seem/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Elegant woman" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that-makes-mere-prettiness-seem/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/hilary-mantel-440_elegant-woman_an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that_2748959.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...an elegant woman, with a refinement that makes mere prettiness seem redundant.” — Hilary Mantel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hilary Mantel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...an elegant woman, with a refinement...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that-makes-mere-prettiness-seem/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/an-elegant-woman-with-a-refinement-that-makes-mere-prettiness-seem/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```